The present invention is directed to an improved card, such as a credit card, security card, or the like, and method of making the same. The present invention is also directed to an embodiment where the card is a full face foil card and where the card has a clear, scratch-resistant surface and a metal foil appearance.
Credit cards, as well as other cards such as shopping cards, pre-paid cards, retail store cards, financial cards, insurance cards, travelling cards, transit passes, tickets, personal identification cards, are finding increasingly widespread use. So, efforts have been made to provide these cards with attractive, distinctive appearances to identify, promote or distinguish the company or association which is issuing or supporting the card. Cards having a metallic surface or appearance exist, where the metallic appearance is formed on or beneath the card surface. The metallic appearance may be combined with printed graphics and stamped holograms that are useful for validating cards and supporting their authenticity.
One problem associated with incorporating metal layers in credit cards is effectively securing the metal layer to the body of the credit card and/or providing a protective film over the metallic surface, which protective film will remain bonded without encountering problems in breakage of the thin metallized surface or lack clarity in the overlaminate. Conventional offset lithography printing of a thin metallized surface on a thin plastic substrate, such as a credit card, is also not practical since the details of the graphics, i.e., the fine lines, tend to blur. Processing the laminate of a plastic substrate with a metallized surface is also problematic because the laminate, in effect, can become a capacitor for storing static electricity generated during processes such as printing. Still further, because of the incompatibility of the material use to make metallic or foil faced cards, the cards tend to delaminate over a period of time due to the flexing that takes place as the cards are carried in wallets and/or heat to which the are subjected.
A number of recent patents have claimed to solve the problems of creating a foil card. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,897,533 to J. L. Lyszczarc teaches a credit card having a metal layer in the form of a metallic foil overlaid at least substantially over all of a plastic substrate. The foil has printed ink graphics on it formed of an ultraviolet curable ink. A transparent film is located on the metallic foil. U.S. Pat. No. 6,025,283 to W. S. Roberts teaches a charge card made from a rubber or plastic laminate with precious metal forming the upper surface and lower surfaces. The use of a rubber-based material layer provides the flexibility required to meet the standards for a credit card. U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,589 to M. Morikaw, et al. teaches a card made from a precious metal foil composite where the precious metal foil is encased by lamination in a transparent polymeric sheet material. That laminate is then joined together with another component having opaque decorative patterns. Finally, the entire assembly is encased in a secondary hard protective covering to provide the outermost protection. U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,231,000,000 to H. Hartmann teaches an identification card to be read by a magnetic system having two protective plates made from a non-magnetizable metal, preferably sheet bronze. The protective plates are bonded in place using a layer of adhesive plastic or solder to join the layers together.
Additionally, there are various techniques known for joining metals and plastics. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,660,190 to J. Stroszynski discloses a process for the manufacturer of a composite material in which a metal layer is deposited on intermediate support and ultimately pressing the ultimate support film against the metal layer while an adhesive layer is interposed between them, to produce a bonded composite having a metal layer.
Some of the problems associated with making cards having a metallic appearance can also be found in other card structures. Upon bringing the appropriate layers together to form a card structure, that structure needs to meet the standards for identification cards or credit cards, such as International Standard ISO 7810-1985. As such, it needs to resist delamination and curling, have enough flexibility to handle the stress of being handled and flexed in wallets, while functioning for a variety of card purposes, including as a credit card.
The present invention is the result of the discovery that an improved card structure, such as a credit card, debit card, ATM card, shopping card, pre-paid card, security card, identification card, or the like, can be achieved using at least two polyester layers, along with the polyvinyl chloride layers that are traditionally brought together to make a card structure. Further, a card structure having a metal foil appearance can be achieved using a metallized polyester layer. The card structure is achieved by joining at least two polyester layers and polyvinyl chloride (xe2x80x9cPVCxe2x80x9d) layers to form a card structure that will meet the standards for identification cards, such as International Standard ISO 7810-1985, and resist delamination and curling, and yet have enough flexibility to function for a variety of card purposes, including as a credit card. The cards can be overprinted, embossed, or provided with further identifying information components such as holograms, signature panels or pads, magnetic strips, photographic identification strips, contact chips, contactless chips, or a card company identifier(s).
For the purpose of this application, the term xe2x80x9ccredit cardxe2x80x9d is intended to include credit cards, as well as debit cards, ATM cards, shopping cards, pre-paid cards, security cards, identification cards, telephone cards, transit passes, travelling cards, personal identification cards, and the like, including cards having functional means such as holograms, signature panels or pads, magnetic strips, photographic identification strips, contact chips, contactless chips, card company identifier(s), and the like for identification, validation, and authenticating.